Pennsylvania

A federal grand jury indicted two Pennsylvania men on hate crime charges for the abuse of residents at a health care facility where they were employees.

Residents at the facility have a range of severe disabilities and many need help with daily activities, like bathing, using the bathroom, eating, and dressing.

According to the indictment, the defendants texted each other about their hatred of the facility’s residents. The men allegedly punched and kicked residents, jumped on them, and sprayed irritants in their eyes and mouths. The men shared pictures and videos of their attacks on residents and encouraged each other’s further abuse of residents. They may have avoided detection because the victims were non-verbal and unable to report the abuse.

The defendants face up to 10 years in prison for each of the 10 hate crime charges.

An indictment is a serious accusation. A defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/former-employees-beaver-county-health-care-facility-indicted-federal-hate-crime-charges

A Leighton man has been charged with transmitting threats across state lines to cause bodily injury to another person.

The defendant allegedly used fake names online to post hundreds of anti-Semitic, anti-black, and anti-Muslim messages, images, and videos. Several of these posts, like the one charged in the complaint, included threats to various religious and racial groups. Other posts expressed a desire to commit genocide and “hate crimes,” and called for or depicted images of the killing of Jewish people, black people, and Muslim people”. On March 13, 2019, the defendant allegedly posted a digitally-created image of his arm and hand aiming an AR-15 rifle at a congregation of praying Jewish men, gathered in what appears to be a synagogue.

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 5 years of imprisonment for each violation, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/lehighton-man-charged-internet-threats

Hide Pennsylvania Man Charged with Federal Hate Crimes for Tree Of Life Synagogue Shooting Robert Bowers was charged with 44 federal counts, including obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death for an attack that occurred on the Sabbath at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in October 2018. On January 29, 2019, a federal grand jury sitting in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania charged Bowers with additional federal hate crimes and firearms offenses for his conduct during the shootings. According to the indictment, the shootings occurred on October 27, 2018, when Bowers entered the Tree of Life Synagogue with multiple firearms and stated his desire to “kill Jews.” Bowers killed eleven worshippers, and injured two other members of the congregations and five law enforcement officers. Bowers faces a maximum possible penalty of life without parole. The additional charges can also result in a sentence of death. If the Attorney General determines the circumstances of these offenses justify seeking the death penalty, the Department of Justice must file a notice with the court at a reasonable time before the trial begins.

Additional Charges Filed: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/additional-charges-filed-tree-life-synagogue-shooting-0